Sir Humphry Davy - Inventor Of The First Arc Lamp
Humphry Davy was born in 1778 in Cornwall. His early life was impoverished, mostly due to his fathers poor investment choices. Working to help his mother pay off the debts left by his father, Davy's education was erratic, although he later said that this enabled him to learn more independantly.
His main areas of interest were geography, languages (he spoke seven), philosophy and science. In his late teens he read a book by a French scientist called Antoine-Lurent Lavoisier. This book was about chemistry and convinced Davy that this was what he wanted to devote his life to.
The invention of the electric battery by Italian scientist Alessandro Volta encouraged Davy to start working in the field of electrochemistry, which ultimately led him to create the very first carbon arc lamp in 1809.
Scientists were aware that the electrodes in a battery created sparks, but Davy was the first to propose using carbon as the electrode material, instead of metal.
By passing a strong electric current through the carbon electrodes, Davy was able to create a strong white light that would be practical for lighting purposes. It is this discovery that gave birth to the field of electric lighting.
Davy went on to demonstrate this discovery in public displays at the Royal Institute at a time when the then new scientific institution was having financial difficulties. With the help of Davy's charm and spectacular displays they were able to draw in large crowds, particularly from London's high society and this quickly reversed the institutions financial situation.
After being knighted in 1812 and then marrying a rich Scottish widow, Davy started to travel the world accompanied by his assistant, one Michael Farady.
After this he was asked to look into the causes and cures for coal-mine explosions, which were killing hundreds of miners every year. It took Davy just three months to resolve the issue after he discovered that the culprit was Methane gas, which ignited at high temperatures. By creating a 'safety lamp' that included a flame surrounded by a wire gauze that dissipated the heat, Davy was able to make the first major step in coal mining saftey history.
Davy was made a baronet in 1818 and elected president of the Royal Society in 1820. In his thirties he started to become ill, mostly as a result of all the nasty chemicals he had spent his life sniffing and tasting. Davy died in 1829 at the age of forty-nine.
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